Civil War on the Left, Part 47: Obama, Please Go Away!

We know that black turnout in the last election was down from 2012, when black turnout was actually higher than white turnout. The left screams “GOP vote suppression!,” except that the lower turnout occurred in many instances in cities and states that Democrats control. Maybe the fact that Obama was no longer on the ballot—and Hillary was—might explain why some black voters stayed home (or voted for Trump—he got the highest GOP share of the black vote in 30 years).

Or maybe blacks are tired of Democrats in general, and Obama in particular. Obama is currently making plans for his presidential library and community action center to be located on the south side of Chicago. The mostly black neighborhood where it is planned to be built isn’t happy about it, and not buying Obama’s happy talk about how it will bring prosperity to the neighborhood.

. . . A nasty fight over a community benefits agreement with the Obama Foundation has exposed an unexpected rift between the former president and some of the South Side residents who helped lift him to prominence.

Not everyone on the South Side, it seems, thinks Obama did enough for black folks during his eight years as president. And as he prepares to build a presidential center that will pay tribute to his legacy, some South Siders are calling him out for what they consider broken promises.

Obama consistently has asked residents to trust that he will do right by them. The presidential center, he insists, will provide a wealth of opportunities specifically designed to meet the needs of Chicagoans who have long been overlooked. But this time, according to one activist, there will be no “Amen, kiss the ring.”

So I guess the old hopey-changey stuff doesn’t work any more; the old halo is dimming, or something.